City to ensure safety for foreign investors

Representatives of foreign-invested companies in HCM City express their concerns with the city's leaders in a meeting on May 14. — Photo vnexpress.net

HCM CITY (VNS) — The HCM City authority yesterday reassured foreign investors in the city that it would ensure safety and security for them and their businesses after unrest occurred at some industrial parks where extremists incited workers to break social order and security.

In recent days, workers at IPs in Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City held rallies to protest China's illegal placement of its oil rig in Viet Nam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. Extremists who made use of the occasion incited protesters to break gates, walls and properties of companies with investors from Taiwan, China and some other countries.

Le Hoang Quan, chairman of HCM City's People's Committee, held a meeting yesterday with the general consulates in HCM City, including Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, China, India and Malaysia. Earlier, he met with associations of foreign businesses in HCM City to provide information and reassure them about the investment environment in HCM City and neighbouring provinces.

Speaking at the meetings, the consul generals and foreign businesses said they were concerned about the security of the industrial parks in the city and surrounding provinces. They asked for more help and support from local authorities.

Quan said the city would try its best to ensure the "complete safety and security" of foreign businesses, pledging that it would not allow similar incidents to occur again.

Quan also said that any acts that caused harm to property and lives were illegal and thus would be punished. Individuals committing such acts could be held responsible for compensation as well. Quan reassured them that violators of laws and regulations would be strictly dealt with.

The city always considers foreign investors an important component of the economy, contributing to the socio-economic development, he added.

The city leader has told the HCM City Labour Federation and management boards at industrial parks and export processing zones to visit the companies and organisations to encourage them to continue production. There are 26 industrial parks and export processing zones in HCM City.

Riot prosecutions

Police in central Ha Tinh Province yesterday are prosecuting 76 people involved in a riot in Vung Ang Industrial park.

The rioting left one foreigner dead and 146 others injured. All the injured were taken to Ha Tinh and Ky Anh hospitals for treatment.

Nguyen Thanh Liem, deputy head of the province's Police Department, said 76 people were suspected of inciting and causing the trouble on Wednesday night.

On Wednesday,more than 1,000 Vietnamese workers in the zone began staging marches against China's deployment of oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 to Vietnamese waters.

Violent fights erupted at 3pm the same day when the demonstrators gathered in front of one gate of the Taiwanese-owned Formosa steel plant.

Two buses were destroyed in the chaos.

Nearly 600 local policemen were dispatched to the site to restore order and to take the injured to hospital.

On the same day, police in southern Binh Duong Province arrested many people after an earlier riot on Tuesday.

They detained about 800 people for questioning, said Vo Duc Thanh, the province's chief police.

They are suspected of taking advantage of peaceful marches against China's illicit placement of an oil rig in Vietnamese waters to cause public disturbance and destroy property, Duc said.

Local authorities have called on people to comply with laws while conducting such demonstrations.

They said they would take measures to ensure safety for investors at provincial industrial parks.

In a press briefing yesterday, Viet Nam foreign ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said order has been restored in Ha Tinh and Binh Duong provinces, while trade activities along the border with China were normal. — VNS